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On Monday, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, trudged back to their homes in the devastated city of Khan Younis, a day after Israel’s unexpected withdrawal of its forces from southern Gaza.
Exhausted by six months of unrelenting war and multiple displacements, many people made the journey on foot from nearby Rafah, and struggled to find 55% of homes destroyed and heavy with the smell of death, where family and neighbours worked to dig out bodies long buried in the rubble.
On Sunday, Israel’s 98th division retreated from southern Gaza, baffling many Israeli commentators that the withdrawal signalled an end to high-intensity fighting in Gaza.
With the departure of the Israeli forces from the south, it leaves only two Israeli brigades inside Gaza tasked with maintaining the physical separation of the northern and southern halves of the enclave.
Israel’s sudden retreat from the south has confounded many, after months in which Israeli officials said the military’s presence there was designed to put pressure on Hamas to release Israeli hostages.
Senior Israeli military and political officials said the withdrawal did not mark the end of the conflict or the postponement of Israel’s threatened assault on Rafah.
However, it coincides with alongside messages from ceasefire talks in Cairo over the weekend, with some describing significant progress.
Netanyahu, yet, said that a date had been set for the invasion of Rafah, but did not give further details.
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